In the eerie glow of the moonlit woods, Garcia cautiously stepped closer to Matteo, hope flickering in his eyes. The struggle within Matteo was palpable—the beast yearning to be unleashed, and the man desperately fighting to maintain control.
"Remember who you are, Matteo. You can overcome this," Garcia pleaded, his voice a whisper in the night air.
Matteo, still wrestling with the wild instincts, looked at Garcia with a mixture of pain and determination. The bond of brotherhood, though strained, held strong beneath the surface of the beastly transformation. As Garcia extended his hand, a sudden surge of recognition softened Matteo's expression.
But the peace was short-lived.
A guttural growl emanated from deep within Matteo, and the beast roared back to life. In a moment of unbridled ferocity, Matteo lunged at Garcia. Instinctively, Garcia raised his arm in a futile attempt to shield himself.
The impact was swift and brutal. Matteo's teeth sank into Garcia's forearm, and a searing pain shot through him. The world blurred as Garcia grappled with a mix of shock, agony, and disbelief. Matteo, momentarily taken aback by what he had done, recoiled, his eyes reflecting the anguish of his dual existence.
Garcia stumbled backward, clutching his wounded arm, his gaze locked on Matteo. The beast within continued to growl, torn between the scent of fresh blood and the fading human connection.
"Matteo, fight it!" Garcia cried out, both in physical and emotional pain.
Matteo, torn by guilt and despair, took a step back. The realization of what he had just done struck him with a force that transcended the beast's primal urges. He retreated into the shadows, the internal battle reaching a fever pitch.
Garcia, wounded but not defeated, watched as Matteo vanished into the night. The pain in his arm was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. He knew that their journey was far from over, and the road ahead would be fraught with challenges, both internal and external.
As the moon continued its watch over the unfolding drama, Garcia, bitten and marked by the very brother he sought to save, braced himself for the turbulent path ahead, hoping against hope that the bond of family with Matteo's stubborn will would prove stronger than the curse that threatened to consume them both.
The night passed with Garcia returning home with a searing pain on his wounded arm and a turbulent mind, hoping with all that he had that his brother would overcome this towering challenge and come back to his senses, while still hoping that he himself wouldn't become the very beast he was so scared of.